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>> This is the scene at our house.>> It's a rare event in Tallahassee, Florida. Residents woke up to snowflakes Wednesday morning as a potentially dangerous winter storm began its forecast march from the southeast up the east coast, already enveloped in record-shattering cold. Forecasters say the storm will bring freezing rain, snow, and strong winds up through New England.

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Crap.>> Meteorologists are calling it a bomb cyclone in which the pressure is expected to fall precipitously, bringing not only freezing temperatures, but strong winds as well. Reuters Boston Bureau chief, Scott Malone.>> The storm comes in the midst of what's been a particularly intense period and long period of cold weather in the Northeast.

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Much of the region has not seen temperatures above freezing since Christmas. And while temperatures are expected to warm somewhat on Wednesday and Thursday around the storm, officials warn and forecasters warn that they'll be dropping sharply over the weekend with temperatures in Boston dipping to overnight lows below zero.

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That, officials said, would make it particularly urgent that snow be removed quickly. And they're also stepping up their efforts to make sure that homeless shelters are open and stocked and reaching out for people who might be stuck in the cold to try to get them into shelters.>> Eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina are expected to get as much as six inches of snow.

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And New England is likely to see 12 to 15 inches. As the cyclone travels up the coast, wind gusts could be around 30 to 50 miles per hour. The numbing cold is already affecting areas in New York. A blizzard warning has been in effect for Erie County with snow falling fast.

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>> You couldn't see a gosh darn thing in front of you. Everything was blurry. There was a complete whiteout. Right now, you could even tell that it's a complete whiteout. I still can't feel my fingertips just from walking, not even a quarter of a mile from my vehicle.

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>> At least one person was killed in a multi-vehicle accident in Buffalo, New York. Washington, DC, is likely to see snow Wednesday night and Thursday as the storm travels north to New England. And it's there where forecasters say the weather is expected to hit the hardest.